Boots on the ground is hyperlocal, and what you're looking for is essentially cheap labor that can open a door when you need it.

but careful planning and documentation are essential""...making sure that your wife understands what she needs to do to document her hours and activities."

Example: $500k home sales price, typical buyer agent commission of 2.5%, meaning buyer agent commission is $12,500.

FL has a ridiculous number of low-value properties, everything from essentially campers on 55+ lots to MH parks everywhere to run-down shacks in much of the rural areas, all of which is going to drag down the average premium.

Finally the pro formas that they provide are absurdly basic and neglect at least 25% expenses, so are essentially useless. 

It depends on the rental income, what you plan on putting down (20-25% is typical, 15% or 25% is required for conventional depending on # of units) For your owner occupied deal, you should be able to use a portion of the rental income to qualify and help offset your DTI a bit. 

Essentially, your new replacement property will consist of (1) a thirty plus year ground lease on the real property you already own; and (2) new capital improvements made on the real property you already own pursuant to the new thirty plus year ground lease.

Regardless, you might find the copy & paste info below helpful:)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

Also, which choice is better for you highly depends on what your real estate goals are and the experience level & skillset of the specific agent.Traditional agent and Redfin Agent could essentially be the same thing in many cases.